Democrats Block Scalise Amendment to Hold States Accountable for Undercounting Nursing Home Deaths

Statement

Following the release of new records showing that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's administration admitted over 9,000 COVID-19 patients into New York nursing homes and then deliberately tried to cover up these deadly actions, House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) today offered an amendment to the House Energy and Commerce Committee's portion of the FY21 budget reconciliation bill that would penalize states that undercut and underreport COVID-19 nursing home deaths.

Click here or on the image above to view his remarks.

Whip Scalise released the following statement after every single Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted against his amendment, including all New York Democrats:

"After weeks of hearing the Biden Administration call for unity and bipartisanship, House Democrats refuse to work with Congressional Republicans to deliver bipartisan COVID-19 relief. My colleagues and I have expressed grave concern about the impact COVID-19 is having on the most vulnerable populations, particularly those in nursing homes. The decision of several governors to ignore federal protocols and instead mandate COVID positive patients be forced back to their nursing homes ended up being a death sentence for tens of thousands of our nation's most vulnerable citizens.

"I'm even more horrified that it has come to light that the Cuomo administration not only defied the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) guidelines and issued "must-admit' orders, but they also took deliberate actions to cover up and mislead the public on the number of deaths associated with this lethal policy. Not only did the Cuomo administration admit to covering up nursing home data so federal prosecutors couldn't find it, new records also show that more than 9,000 COVID patients were sent into New York nursing homes by Cuomo's deadly order -- that's 40% higher than what the state has been saying.

"We owe it to those who died and their grieving families to hold these states accountable for their fraudulent actions. States that undercut and underreport COVID nursing home deaths, should and will be penalized under my amendment. Unfortunately, there is no indication that House Democrats are willing to work across the aisle on bipartisan solutions like my amendment."

Background:

The Scalise Amendment follows the letter that Republican Whip and Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis Ranking Member Steve Scalise (R-La.) sent New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on January 8, 2021 calling on him to provide all data on nursing home deaths related to his deadly must admit order.

On June 15, 2020, Republican members of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis sent a letter to Cuomo requesting information on his nursing home order. To date, they have not received a direct response from Cuomo or his administration.

On June 25, 2020, after receiving no response from the Cuomo administration, the Select Subcommittee members -- along with members of the New York Congressional Delegation -- called on New York Attorney General Letitia James to look into the Cuomo administration's nursing home orders. James' office has also provided no direct response.

On July 9, 2020, Republican Whip and House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis Ranking Member Steve Scalise (R-La.) once again called on NY Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) to answer questions about his deadly "must admit" order that forced the state's nursing homes to take in potentially infective coronavirus patients in contradiction of federal safety guidelines.

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